Fossil Fuels in Ohio
All three major types of fossil fuels, coal, oil, and natural gas, are found in Ohio.
Coal is concentrated in the east central and southeast portions of the state. It is extracted from either open pit or underground mines. Since coal production began in 1880 more than 3.4 billion tons of coal have been mined in Ohio. Former uses of coal included home heating and cooking, blast furnaces, steam mills, and saw mills. With the invention and growth of coal burning power plants, the primary use of coal changed. Currently 90% of the coal mined in Ohio and 80% nationally is used for this purpose. In 1970 with the addition of new regulations and permits, and the passing of the Clean Air Act coal prices soared 470% to its current price of $25/ton in Ohio. Ohio coal has a higher sulfur content and thus, emits more into the atmosphere contributing to acid rain. These factors reduced coal production 51% and along with new technologies have greatly decreased the number of operating underground mines and coal miners in general. As of 1996 there were only 10 underground mines in Ohio.
Coal mining causes several negative effects including choked streams from excessive sediment, acid mine drainage, and subsidence. Excessive sediment from the processing and mining of the rock are easily eroded and transported into streams with rain and flood events. This occurs because the material is not suitable for vegetation that would prevent this process. Thus, streams are dammed and back up causing the formation of new wetlands. Acid mine drainage occurs when the pyrite in coal is exposed to air causing it to oxidize. The result is water introduced with sulfuric acid that can greatly alter its pH from a natural 7 to a deadly 1 or 2. Subsidence occurs when an underground mine collaspes. It can cause problems from the ground collapsing to ruining building foundations to disruption of underground utilities. There are several towns in Ohio who have extensive accounts of damage due to this and even I-70, the major east-west highway though Ohio, has experienced problems due to subsidence.
In addition to vast coal resources Ohio also has a number of oil and gas fields. These occur in the eastern half of the state plus in an arc from Mercer to Lucas Counties in northwestern Ohio. The first wells were drilled over 150 years ago in Mecca Township in Mercer County. Adeptly named Mecca many people visited who had hopes to strike it rich. Like many other oil boom towns in Ohio once the oil wells dried up in Mecca the people left. In 1884 the most significant oil-and-gas boom occurred along the arc in northwestern Ohio from the Trenton Limestone in the Lime-Indiana oil-and-gas fields. Over this period of time 280 million barrels of oil and 2 trillion cubic feet of gas were extracted. During the peak of this boom in 1896 23 million barrels were produced. This deposit made Ohio the top oil-and-gas producing state from 1895 to 1903. Currently Ohio has 60,000 wells of which most are "stripper" wells. These pump less than 10 barrels of oil per day. Also most production now occurs in the eastern third of the state.
Source
Ohio Division of Geological Survey (Department of Natural Resources)
GeoFacts No.12
GeoFacts No. 14
GeoFacts No. 15
Oil and Gas Fields Map of Ohio
Coal is concentrated in the east central and southeast portions of the state. It is extracted from either open pit or underground mines. Since coal production began in 1880 more than 3.4 billion tons of coal have been mined in Ohio. Former uses of coal included home heating and cooking, blast furnaces, steam mills, and saw mills. With the invention and growth of coal burning power plants, the primary use of coal changed. Currently 90% of the coal mined in Ohio and 80% nationally is used for this purpose. In 1970 with the addition of new regulations and permits, and the passing of the Clean Air Act coal prices soared 470% to its current price of $25/ton in Ohio. Ohio coal has a higher sulfur content and thus, emits more into the atmosphere contributing to acid rain. These factors reduced coal production 51% and along with new technologies have greatly decreased the number of operating underground mines and coal miners in general. As of 1996 there were only 10 underground mines in Ohio.
Coal mining causes several negative effects including choked streams from excessive sediment, acid mine drainage, and subsidence. Excessive sediment from the processing and mining of the rock are easily eroded and transported into streams with rain and flood events. This occurs because the material is not suitable for vegetation that would prevent this process. Thus, streams are dammed and back up causing the formation of new wetlands. Acid mine drainage occurs when the pyrite in coal is exposed to air causing it to oxidize. The result is water introduced with sulfuric acid that can greatly alter its pH from a natural 7 to a deadly 1 or 2. Subsidence occurs when an underground mine collaspes. It can cause problems from the ground collapsing to ruining building foundations to disruption of underground utilities. There are several towns in Ohio who have extensive accounts of damage due to this and even I-70, the major east-west highway though Ohio, has experienced problems due to subsidence.
In addition to vast coal resources Ohio also has a number of oil and gas fields. These occur in the eastern half of the state plus in an arc from Mercer to Lucas Counties in northwestern Ohio. The first wells were drilled over 150 years ago in Mecca Township in Mercer County. Adeptly named Mecca many people visited who had hopes to strike it rich. Like many other oil boom towns in Ohio once the oil wells dried up in Mecca the people left. In 1884 the most significant oil-and-gas boom occurred along the arc in northwestern Ohio from the Trenton Limestone in the Lime-Indiana oil-and-gas fields. Over this period of time 280 million barrels of oil and 2 trillion cubic feet of gas were extracted. During the peak of this boom in 1896 23 million barrels were produced. This deposit made Ohio the top oil-and-gas producing state from 1895 to 1903. Currently Ohio has 60,000 wells of which most are "stripper" wells. These pump less than 10 barrels of oil per day. Also most production now occurs in the eastern third of the state.
Source
Ohio Division of Geological Survey (Department of Natural Resources)
GeoFacts No.12
GeoFacts No. 14
GeoFacts No. 15
Oil and Gas Fields Map of Ohio
posted by Kelly at 6:30 PM
0 comments
